Owner Group Suing Three Residents

By Dick Hogan

The homeowners association of a Gateway subdivision is suing three residents who decorated the outside of their homes with statements against the builder, Pulte Homes.

But Pulte still controls the association's board and is using it to punish homeowners critical of the builder's construction practices, says one resident.

The homeowners association is owned and controlled by five board members, three controlled by Pulte, said Miami attorney David Mishael. He represents William Hoesch, 31 ó who with his wife, Dana, 29, is the target of one of the three lawsuits filed two months ago by the Bristol Parc at Gateway Homeowners Association Inc. that's it in a nutshell

The Hoesches, along with Remy Fenelus and Norman Clark, posted signs and graffiti outside their homes claiming that they're unsafe to live in because of toxic mold infestations. They say faulty construction practices by Pulte allowed water into the homes. Mishael said he plans to file a class-action lawsuit.

Pulte attorney Steve Falk declined to discuss the merits of the lawsuits, but said the homeowners association had the graffiti cleaned off the Fenelus and Clark houses while the Hoesch case has been ordered into mediation by Lee Circuit Judge William McIver.

The lawsuits cite a section of the rules set up by the homeowners association stating that nothing may be done on a resident's property which may or may not become an annoyance or nuisance to any person

But Mishael noted that the homeowner's association president who ordered the lawsuit is Greg Wolpert, who is marketing manager for Pulte in Southwest Florida.

The association for the community, which hasn't been completed, has not been completely turned over to the residents. Three of the five board members are appointed by Pulte and Wolpertís action was taken to protect the company's interests, Mishael said.

In the court-ordered mediation, Hoesch and the association will decide whether they can voluntarily decide their differences.

But Hoesch, who with his wife and daughter moved out of the $129,000 house in June 1999 after a Lee County Health Department report confirmed it was infested with hazardous mold, said he isnít taking down the signs until Pulte fixes the communities mold problem.

Those signs are up for a reason he said. Dick Hogan can be reached at